A great way to feel good again!

[ferg]

Hi there, about 2-3 hours ago i waved goodbye to £20 quid because of my ignorance, (on itsfree2u.co.uk trying to get a sony viao laptop) after reading up on the facts and realising how unlikely the chances of ever seeing this laptop i thought there was nothing i could do.... - i was wrong - i have made it my own personal mission to stop people selling links for sony viao laptops on ebay. in just a couple of minutes ive reported 20, and my god, it made me feel so much better about it all! lol I am now going to spend 15 mins every morning reporting these auctions. (here are the item numbers)

6707737843 $UK UK !43322! 032204
6707754119 $UK UK !43322! 032204
6708205299 $UK UK !44433! 102702
6708209415 $UK UK !44433! 102702
6708267964 $UK UK !00000! 062504
6708271148 $UK UK !00000! 062504
6708271236 $UK UK !00000! 062504
6707999457 $UK UK !33400! 120603
6708025408 $UK UK !00033! 052404
6708033306 $UK UK !00033! 052304
6706456833 $UK UK !00023! 060704
6708151556 $UK UK !00023! 052304
6707321040 $UK UK !00000! 082904
6707744536 $UK UK !12100! 060703
6707749632 $UK UK !12100! 060703
6708201028 $UK UK !43432! 110103
6708214619 $UK UK !22312! 110202
6708216917 $UK UK !00000! 082604
6708219138 $UK UK !00000! 082604
6708234591 $UK UK !00000! 091104

just realised this is in the ebay.com instead of the uk one! oops! -move me-

[mercinary]

I've moved this to the UK-eBay folder.

[mercinary]

Ferg,

I'm glad to hear that you've joined the fight against these scams. If you're interested in joining my watchdog team here at Matrixwatch, send me a PM.

More info about what a watchdog is can be found in the following locations:

http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1323

http://www.matrixwatch.org/modules.php?name=FAQ&myfaq=yes&id_cat=5#26



If you want to see some of the work we do, check out these threads:

http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/showthread.php?p=12724#post12724

http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/showthread.php?p=12725#post12725

http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/showthread.php?p=12726#post12726


-Merc

[mercinary]

Not to SPAM this thread, but I want to note that all of these auctions except for 6706456833 were search escapes. In other words, between our automation and manual searches we did not find these auctions.

They have been added to our database! We will do some research on these auctions to make sure our automation hits them. Thanks again Ferg!!!!

-Merc

[MatrixWatch]

ferg,
It is great to see that you have transformed your unfortunate situation into an opportunity to protect others from falling into it as well. We share your vision and we commend you!

As 'mercinary' pointed out, we have a team here which reports these scams to ebay UK, ebay U.S., and Yahoo Auctions. Feel free to join up with one or more of these teams and make a huge difference!

It seems that you have already helped us out by bringing attention to a couple auctions that our software programs have missed. Thanks!

As 'mercinary' pointed out, you can email or PM him if you are interested in the effort.

Great to have your here on the site, ferg.

[cybertrax]

I'm sure this is going to get shouted down - but feel I must point something out. By making it your mission to bring down matrix sites, you are effectively making sure that any investments you have made to a matrix site are wiped out. If a matrix site is closed there is no way of getting your money back apart than through court action - which in itself costs money with no guarantee at the end.

It just seems to me to be a short-term near-sighted view, with no longterm vision.

[ferg]

Well i basically said goodbye to my 'invested' money as soon as i read some posts on this site! sounds like something is happening over this 'banana' whatever it is - but having done e-commerce and given the fact that on the site i was duped into it does actually clearly state that you are buying the £20 item and a CHANCE to get the main prize - i dont think i'll be getting any money back anyways - just my thoughts. :)

[MatrixWatch]

I'm sure this is going to get shouted down - but feel I must point something out. By making it your mission to bring down matrix sites, you are effectively making sure that any investments you have made to a matrix site are wiped out. If a matrix site is closed there is no way of getting your money back apart than through court action - which in itself costs money with no guarantee at the end.

It just seems to me to be a short-term near-sighted view, with no longterm vision.

Cyber,
What you say is actually not true. In fact, when a pay company finds out that matrix sites are using their payment services to support a matrix, they often freeze the cash. Then, those who paid into the account can get refunds without the fear of the owner withdrawing the money and running. This has happened on several occurances throughout the last year.

Also, your comment about legal action is not true either. All of the lawsuits filed on behalf of matrix victims thus far have not cost the plaintiffs a dime. The matrix site and/or their pay processor(s) have been sued separately for fees (please read the lawsuits for more info on this).

I appreciate you expressing your opinion, but please to lay off the comments about long-term vs. short-term vision. The 'Auction Watchdog' team is a very hardworking group that has protected thousands of people from getting scammed by these matrix sites. As a result, all of those potential victims will not need to deal with the problems that many matrix customers have. Ebay, Inc. has policies against these matrix-related auctions, and they will cancel them right away once reported.

If you have a problem with matrix auctions getting shut down, then perhaps you should address your concerns to Ebay directly. Or, perhaps you could also send off an email complaining to the various pay companies (and host providers) who have joined our effort to rid the internet of these matrix scams. Better yet, complain to the media about all of the stories that they have done on these matrix sites, often bringing about a drop in consumer confidence with matrix sites.

:rolleyes:

You are welcome to hold to your own opinions, and to express them on this discussion board. However, you are really fighting an uphill battle, and there really are not many people around who will stand by your side. Matrix sites are no longer worth it, and even if there was a shred of legitimacy to them they look so much like pyramid schemes that most savvy consumers would stay far away no matter what you told them.